SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Gov. Bruce Rauner is set to deliver his annual budget address to state lawmakers as Illinois enters its eighth month without a spending plan for the current year.
The standoff with majority Democrats over the budget, and what Rauner proposes to do to resolve it, will likely overshadow many of the initiatives the Republican governor plans to unveil Wednesday.
He will be calling for more funding for public schools. But without a budget plan it remains to be seen how he will make that happen.
The state’s spending plan should have taken effect July 1.
Illinois faces a roughly $5 billion budget deficit this year, and its unpaid bill backlog could reach almost $26 billion by 2020 if current revenue and spending policies continue.
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